The human immunodeficiency virus, HIV, is on the rise and mostly among youth ages 13 to 34, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"In the three years they've (Community Collaborative Care Program) been open, we have seen an increase," said Travis Leyva, disease prevention program manager with the Department of Health in Las Cruces. "The increase we have seen has also been in younger folks."

For some time, the median age of people testing positive at Community Collaborative Care Program were people in their mid 40s, but now, Leyva said, an increasing amount of 18- to 22-year-olds getting tested and diagnosed.

The rise could be attributed to local HIV testing programs actively going out in the community more and testing more people.

"We really encourage people to get confidential testing," Leyva said.

The Department of Health has two kinds of testing — confidential and anonymous. With confidential testing, certified testers take down names and addresses to make sure the results get to the proper person. With anonymous testing, clients are given a number and are tasked with coming back to the office for results. The latter can be problematic because not everyone comes back for their results. Sometimes testers are left with positive HIV test results and the knowledge that an anonymous person out there has HIV.

Some people don't want their names shared with certified testers because HIV has a negative stigma.

"It's hard for the community to get past it," he said.

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Some people think HIV is the end of the world for them or that it will be obvious to everyone around them. There is also a perception that HIV positive people will be sick for the rest of their lives.

That's not the case anymore.

"Some people can take meds and live a happy life and others, they get really sick," Leyva said. "Luckily we have providers and docs that are experts in the field, that will help folks. The trend is changing where medications are helping folks live longer and normal lives."

He has seen people come in who have started families while having HIV, he said.

It's always a good idea to get tested for HIV, whether you think you might be at risk or you just want to make sure. There is lots of help out there and a lot of it is free.

The Community Collaborative Care Program is a product of the State HIV Health Management Alliance and was established by the Ryan White grant funding.

Nonprofit programs, outside of the state, have also been established to help people with HIV, such as International Aids Empowerment, La Clinica de Familia and Alianza.

National HIV Testing Day is June 27, designated to promote HIV testing and early diagnosis. This year's theme is "Take the Test, Take Control." It is often free or low-cost to get a test, either confidentially or anonymously, so make June the month you know your status.

Andi Murphy may be reached at 575-541-5453. Follow Andi on Twitter @andimurphy.

• Sierra County Public Health Office, 201 E. 4th St. in Truth or Consequences, 575-894-2716

HIV in the United States

• 1.1 million people are living with HIV and 1 on 5 don't know they're infected. The number of people with HIV has increased over the past decade.

• Gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men are more seriously affected with HIV. Although these men represent just four percent of the U.S. population, they account for more than 78 percent of HIV infections among males and 63 percent of new infections.

• African Americans are most affected by HIV. One in 16 black men and 1 in 32 black women will be diagnosed with HIV.

• There was a 12 percent raise in new cases among black men who have sex with other men from 2008 to 2010. In that same time, there was a 21 percent decrease among women with new cases.

• 50,000 new incidences of HIV every year and 32,052 were diagnosed with AIDS.

• 15,529 people died from AIDS in 2010, adding to the 636,000 who have died since the AIDS epidemic began.

• 36 percent of those infected with HIV and AIDS, since the epidemic began, were injection drug users.

— Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cdc.gov

HIV in New Mexico, 2011

• 1,304 people in New Mexico are living with HIV.

• 2,164 are living with AIDS.

• 3,468 are living with HIV and AIDS.

• 1,505 white people are living with HIV and AIDS

• 1,386 blacks people are living with HIV and AIDS

• 266 Native Americans are living with HIV and AIDS

• Most cases of HIV and AIDS are found in the 45 to 54 age range at 1,284.

• Most cases of HIV and AIDS are found in males who have sex with other males at 2,079, or 60 percent.

• There are 135 certified HIV testers in New Mexico and seven in Las Cruces.

— Source: New Mexico Department of Health, nmdoh.gov

Clean needles

• HIV is also transmitted through injection drug use and sharing needles. In fact, nine percent of all HIV and AIDS cases in New Mexico are a result of injection drug use.

HIV is a virus that can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). HIV cannot be cured and one will have it for life. It affects cells of the immune systen and can, over time, kill so many of them that the body cannot fight off any other infections or diseases. HIV turns into AIDS when the CD4 cells (specific cells in the immune system) fall below 200 cells per cubic millimeter of blood.

Scientists believe HIV comes from a specific type of chimpanzee in Africa. Humans most likely came in contact with their blood and contracted the virus. It then came to the United States in the mid to late 1970s and became an epidemic in the 1980s.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cdc.gov

Helpful sites

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — HIV, http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/

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